Something exciting is possible in Cedar Park!
ARR member and Milburn Park Pump Track Trail Steward Dimitri Nichols has been working hard with the City of Cedar Park and the Parks Advisory Board regarding plans for public space. A mountain bike trail system and/or a concrete skate-style bike park are in the early stages of consideration.
Dimitri has done an initial survey of several tracts and his impressions and ideas for development are very exciting. Dimitri has not only done an excellent job building an strong relationship with city officials, he has prepared a professional and thoughtful proposal and the project has been approved for a feasibility study.
This coming Monday, June 9th the Parks Advisory Board will hold a meeting and public input and local support in vital to this project moving forward. Below is DImitri's write posted on BikeMojo, VooDoo Thread.
Cedar Park Park Advisory Board Meeting
Parks Advisory Board Meeting
Date: 7/9/2012 6:30 PM
Location: City Council Chambers
450 Cypress Creek Rd.; Bldg. 4
Cedar Park, Texas 78613
This is a good time for a reminder to EVERYONE...about this meeting next week, MONDAY.
Please, everyone that would like to have a mountain bike trail system AND/OR a super cool park / skills area, PLEASE show up and speak out.
When you get there, BE SURE to sign up to speak. You get 3 minutes to say what you want, and why it is a benefit to the public.
They have the money to spend, and will spend it on something, this is your chance to say HOW you want it spent! A chance to ASK about the PROGRESS.
Make whatever arrangements, bring wife /husband / friends / tell neighbors. This has the potential to be the coolest thing the city has done, but they NEED to hear it from you. We had a VERY GOOD initial response from the Parks Advisory Board, this is our chance to EXPAND upon that. I will be available to discuss beforehand, between now and then, if you'd like.
And afterwards to drink beer.
We were approached by some of the city staff to help round up some support for a concrete skate style bike park to be built at Milburn. Now I know that a concrete bike park would be very cool, but I also know that other riders in the area would like something more comprehensive that appeals to a broader user group. Something that families could enjoy together. Something that utilizes various forms of hard surface and a dirt element.
The parks director, Curt Randa, had previously taken me on a tour through the area and showed me three tracts of land, asking me as to their suitability for bike trails. I took my bike and gps and explored the tracts. The three tracts lend themselves perfectly to a progressive trail system. One tract (we will call ‘tract 1’) is cleared of Ashe Juniper and has been restored to the original fairly smooth savannah of tall native grasses and native oaks that was native to Central Texas, perfect for beginner trail system. This tract will also be home to a future nature center and is populated with numerous enclosed / protected small caves, further lending itself to a family friendly beginner trail system. Adjoining ‘tract 2’ has a rugged rockier topography with a creek and other drainage features, well suited to intermediate trails system. It also contains several named and signed caves, which further adds interest. An easy ride through the neighborhood green space easements from either of these tracts brings you to Milburn pump track and the Milburn swimming pool. A combination of existing crushed granite paths and neighborhood streets connects Milburn with ‘tract 3’.
Tract 3 is a rocky ravine with a creek and an old ranch house. This tract has a lot of elevation change and is naturally suited to a more advanced trail system with very intriguing topography changes.
This is the proposal and presentation that myself and a few local riders and residents put together and presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting. The Board seemed to fall in love with the idea and unanimously voted to approve $50,000 for a feasibility study. $50,000 is a lot of money. The local riders are concerned that since no one on the city staff helped with this proposal, that they will not use that money to make it the best it could be. They don’t ride bikes and are not subject matter experts on what makes a fun and excellent bike riding experience.
The local riders want to have input on the feasibility study. We don’t want just another skate park, we want something that is much better thought out.
The Cedar Park Adventure Bike Park and Trail System Project
Background
It is thanks to Assistant City Manager Sam Roberts and Parks Director Curt Randa that we have had the support of the City to move forward with efforts to enhance the Cedar Park Hike and Bike Trail System to develop a new Hard Surface Bike Park at Milburn, to establish Mountain Bike Trails within existing Cedar Park Green Spaces and to create connection to the existing hike and bike trail systems.
The Cedar Park Adventure Bike Park and Trail System Project is consistent with the City of Cedar Park’s vision to be a healthy, well planned recreational destination in Central Texas.
City of Cedar Park
Parks and Recreation Mission Statement
The mission of the Parks and Recreation Department is to efficiently maintain and operate park facilities, to provide recreational programs for the enjoyment and health of all our citizens, and seek partnerships to maximize recreational opportunities for our community.
Planning and Development Mission Statement
The mission of the City of Cedar Park Planning and Development Services Department is to improve the quality of life for the current and future residents living and working within the City. This is accomplished through the proactive identification of solutions, maintaining an exemplary level of customer service, and keeping abreast of the most advanced trends in urban planning, land development, and inspection processes. Further, it is our mission to help carry out programs and projects through public investment, public-private cooperation, volunteer efforts, and enforcement in order to enhance the vitality and promote the orderly development of the community.
Proposal
The Cedar Park Adventure Bike Park and Trail System Project proposes a new Hard Surface Bike Park at Milburn, to establish Mountain Bike Trails within existing Cedar Park Green Spaces and to create connection to the existing Hike and Bike trail systems.
The Hard Surface Bike Park (HSBP) will be located in Milburn Park.
The Bike Park will utilize existing park space to provide an all ages and all skills space for all types of riding. It will be a progressive environment that will accommodate all skills of riders from beginner to advanced. This location will serve as the Western Hike and Bike Trail Hub and provide the starting point for mountain biking in this part of the city. This location will utilize the existing Milburn Park parking lot providing easy access to thousands of residents and city guests.
The Mountain Bike portion of the Park Bike Park and Trail System Project will originate from the HSBP and fan out in several directions into green spaces throughout western Cedar Park.
Initial planning indicates approximately 15 miles of mountain bike trails are available for almost immediate use with an additional 15 available following development.
The Mountain Bike Trail System coupled with the Brushy Creek Regional Trail allows for system of Hike & Bike trails exceeding 45 miles.
The Cedar Park Bike Park and Trail System Project is a comprehensive plan that will appeal to a broad demographic of residents and visitors from throughout Central Texas and beyond. Cedar Park offers some of the most interesting wild spaces in the area with numerous existing natural features, rock formations and named caves all of which are protected and identified. These existing natural features make for an interesting riding experience and offer an educational aspect to the experience and promote a sense of conservation of natural areas.
Mountain Biker Demographic Stats
Mountain Biker population in the U.S. = 50,000,000
Male 88%
43 years old
73% college or post grad
$94K median income
A favorite physical fitness activity of kids 6-17
Golfer Demographic Stats
Golfing population in the U.S. = 29,000,000
77.5% are male
46 years old
67% attended and/or graduated college
$95K median income
Conclusion
The Cedar Park Adventure Bike Park and Trail System Project is consistent with the established and long term effort to have an extensive Hike & Bike System within in the city. The addition of the Hard Surface Bike Park and development of a Mountain Bike Trails System within existing Green Spaces and connections to the existing Hike and Bike trail systems is the next step to reaching our goals of being a well-planned, recreational and fit City. Again, thanks to Assistant City Manager Sam Roberts and Parks Director Curt Randa for their vision for a better city and we will appreciate your support for the Cedar Park Adventure Bike Park and Trail System Project.
Link to the presentation. You will need a good internet connection, give it time to fully load.
To the left of the grey arrow you will see faintly "more". Press "more", then press "full screen"
Use the gray arrow to advance as you complete each slide. There should be a video in the fulcrum of the teeter totter.... if it's not there, wait and let it load.
Press "Esc" key on your keyboard to escape when you are done. There should be a video in the fulcrum of the teeter totter; it may take a moment to load.
http://prezi.com/yii3tbqekpsi/milburn-bike-park/
This may still be doomed to fail if we don't organize enough local support. Due to this proposal and presentation they were granted $50,000 for a feasibility study, but that study needs to be spec'd out as to what aspects of the park are feasible. After the proposal and presentation, the Advisory Board that granted the 50k was obviously stoked and unanimously granted the coin.
But the people in charge of this are not subject matter experts on how to build a state of the art bike park or trail system. We need to voice what we want, and have some input on what is to be deemed feasible. This will require phone calls and follow up, and a lot of effort from a lot of people.
In other words, getting the money was the easy part, ensuring that it is spent correctly is where the work begins. We need people willing to do that work.
Some of the people that have been close to the situation for the past couple of years know the method of operation that is encountered... it can be very frustrating.
Organized team effort will be key. We need a list of Cedar Park residents that are willing to make that effort.
Feel free to let me know any concerns or questions that you may have. We want for this to be able to be enjoyed by as many residents as possible, and we can make sure that is what happens.
To clarify, the proposal and the presentation were put together by local residents and riders. The city gave no input. It will be doomed if we do not have continued local resident support. The city personnel that got the money are not avid riders.
We already have templates from other city's RFPs for bad ass bicycle recreation area feasibility studies. We need to be the architects of the RFP for this feasibility study. RFP = Request for Proposal. Fun, flow, progressive, sustainable are general examples of criteria, though it should be much more specific than this.
